St. George
Serbian Orthodox Church
Carmichaels, PA

Bulletin 493 - June 16 / June 29, 2008

The Orthodox Faith

Chronicle of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church
Diocesan Bishop - His Grace Bishop Dr. MITROPHAN
Parish Priest - Fr. Rodney Torbic
296 Old Route 21
Carmichaels, Pennsylvania 15320
June 16 / June 29, 2008
Second Sunday after Pentecost
No. 493
Remember to listen to the parish radio broadcast each Sunday afternoon at 12:15 on WMBS, 590 AM, Uniontown.
Ephesians 4:11-13

And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Recent Services
June 22
One person came for Midnight Office.
One person came for Matins and First Hour. Sixth Hour was read.
Thirty-one people came for Divine Liturgy. Three communicants.
June 23
One person came for Midnight Office.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
One person came for Akathist to Jesus Christ, Akathist ot the Mother of God and Akathist to St. Archangel Michael.
One person came for Akathist to the Cross.
Two people came for Akathist to St. George
June 24
One person came for Midnight Office.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
June 25
One person came for Midnight Office.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
June 26
One person came for Midnight Office.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
June 27
One person came for Midnight Office.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
June 28
One person came to St. George Church for Midnight Office.
Matins and First Hour were read.
Three people came to Holy Trinity Mission in Fairmont, West.Virginia for Divine Liturgy.
Ninth Hour and Vespers were read in St. George Church.

Services This Coming Week - Always Call to Confirm Weekday Schedule

Today
Midnight Office, Matins, First Hour. Third, Sixth Hour. Divine Liturgy. Parastos.

Mornings
5:30 AM - Midnight Office, Matins and Ninth Hour follow. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Afternoons
4:00 PM - Ninth Hour, Vespers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Saturday.

Saturday
Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM - Holy Trinity Mission, Fairmont, W.Va.

Remember Monastery Marcha with Prayers and Contributions

Important Dates

Today June 29 - Parish Vidovdan Program following Divine Liturgy.
July 3 - Venerable Naum of Ohrid
July 5 - Venerable Anastasia of Serbia
July 7 - Nativity of St. John the Baptist

If you are too busy to pray...you are too busy!

Pray for the Suffering Serbian People in Kosovo and Metohija

Parish Life

· Thank you to all staying for the program today after the Divine Liturgy.

· The Apostles Fast continues until July 12. Please honor the fast.

· All Diocesan parish churches will be closed on August 3 for Diocese Day.

· Plan to attend Diocese Day at Shadeland on August 3.

· Two people came for Adult Class this past Monday evening. No class this week.

· Pray for the St. Herman of Alaska Serbian Monastery in Platina California and the St. Xenia Skete and for all persons threatened by wildfires in California.

· Shadeland applications are available for the second week only.

· Take time to read your Bible and pray each day.

· If you do not have an Orthodox prayer book to use at home, please obtain one.

· If you have not been to Holy Confession or Communion it is time to prepare.

· If you do not celebrate your Slava, please begin this year.

· You help the parish when you are a faithful Orthodox Christian each day.

· Monetary donations are being accepted immediately and will continue to be accepted to help the needy in Kosovo. When donating, please designate the contribution for Diocesan Relief Fund. The situation is urgent and of great importance.

· Remember the men and women working in dangerous occupations including those in the mines and criminal justice agencies, the police, correctional officers and parole agents.

· Remember the sick, the suffering, the imprisoned, those in rehab centers, nursing homes, jails and prisons. Remember the staff members and caretakers.

· Remember the men and women serving in the military and their families.

A Thought from Very Reverend Stavrofor Milan Savich

You can live without prayer; many people do. But you can't be a Christian and live without it. Prayer makes us strong to do what God wants. God is like a source of energy. If we use an electrical appliance, like an iron or a toaster, we must plug it in first. An electrical current will run through the appliance and make it work. In the same way, God's grace makes us strong and helps us do what He wants. When we pray, we get tough with God's strength, we 'plug in" to God's energy source.

( 1987 Serbian Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood Calendar, p.88 )

Remember the Students at St. Sava School of Theology, Libertyville, Illinois

To Consider

· Formal theological education.
· The amount of preparation necessary for ordination.
· Continuing education for clergy

Recent Activities of Parish Priest

June 2 - Went to Diocesan Center. Went to Monastery Marcha.
June 26 - Went to Morgantown, W.Va. for printing purposes.
June 27 - Went to Diocesan Center in Mars for Diocesan Council meeting.
June 28 - Went to Fairmont, West Virginia to serve Divine Liturgy.

Wisdom of Sirach 10:4

The government of the earth is in the hands of the Lord, and over it and He will raise up the right man for the time.

The Second Sunday After Pentecost, 2008

Matthew 4:18-23

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people

To be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is a voluntary decision. Individuals are not forced to say "yes" to the Lord Jesus Christ. Individuals follow Christ freely to satisfy the hunger of the soul.

The inner longing for completeness and authentic nourishment of the soul leads a person to Christ and keeps a person in Christ. A person can fruitlessly travel many roads in search of meaning and peace. The Lord Jesus Christ provides the perfect peace. (Is. 26:3, Eph. 2:14)

Christ gives full and complete meaning to each person. Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (Jn. 10:10) Christ's death on the Cross reveals His love for each person.

Christ's death on the Cross reveals His willingness to sacrifice for each person. Christ's Resurrection reveals the victory for each person. Believers need never despair. Christ's triumph over death provides enduring hope

Every Sunday the Resurrection is celebrated. Every Sunday is a celebration of Pascha. Every Sunday the Resurrected Christ is proclaimed throughout the world. Every Sunday the Gospel is preached.

Each Divine Liturgy transforms the world. Each Divine Liturgy sets in motion the celebration of the Resurrection. The cumulative impact of Divine Liturgies celebrated throughout the world is beyond measure.

Time and space, life and lives are changed by the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. The saints and martyrs, the angels and archangels, the departed and the living are joined in the Divine Liturgy.

Communicants gather each Sunday around the world to partake of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ. Each communicant is transformed by the Precious Body and Blood. Each communicate is changed, renewed in Christ.

Communicants leave the parish church and go into the world. Believers attentive to the Holy Gospel go into the world following the Divine Liturgy. Believers renewed in Christ at each Divine Liturgy change the homes and communities they enter.

Each believer is a missionary for Christ. Each person serious about the Lord Jesus Christ will share that belief. Each person serious about the Lord Jesus Christ will share Christ in daily living, in ethical practices and expressions of faith.

God rewards faith. God acts in ways to confirm faith. God aids and multiplies the works of the faithful. God multiplied the work of the Holy Apostles.

The Holy Apostles responded to Christ's invitation to follow Him. The work of the Holy Apostles continues to bear fruit until today. Believers today are inspired by the lives of the Holy Apostles and learn from them.

Believers today learn from the writings and the examples of faith exhibited by the Holy Apostles. Husbands and wives learning about Christ through the work of the Holy Apostles share that learning with each other.

Parents filled with the love of Christ inspired by the Holy Apostles share that love with their children. Children seeing parents partaking of the Precious Body and Blood Christ learn of unity with Christ and love for Christ.

Holy Confession brings individuals from the depths of despair to the heights of the mountain of God (Is. 2:3). The sound way to follow Christ is to regularly go to Holy Confession and to regularly partake of His Precious Body and Blood.

Being attentive to readings of the Epistle and Holy Gospel at each Divine Liturgy helps a believer to reorient his or her life to follow Christ. Every day decisions must be made to keep life in conformity with the way of Christ.

Living the Christian life is a constant struggle against temptations and diversions which lead to death of the soul and corruption of life. The ways of evil present in the world are defeated only when the believer has on the armor of God.

The Holy Apostle Paul told the Romans: "Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (Rom. 13:12-14)

The Holy Apostles were committed to the Lord Jesus Christ to the degree they left family and home to follow Christ. The Holy Apostles commitment to Christ was complete.

Contemporary believers are challenged to be completely committed to Christ. Complete commitment to Christ will find many forms of manifestation in the family home, in the parish church, at school or in the work place, in the neighborhood or the local community.

The Holy Orthodox Church provides the best environment for believers to follow Christ. Nourishment and direction from Christ continually exist in His Holy Church from the of the Holy Apostles to the present.

St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.
June 16 / June 29, 2008
Second Sunday after Pentecost.
St. Tychon of Amathus.

Fr. Rodney Torbic

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